Bioswale & Pond: The latest letter from the county was discussed in which they referred to matters which still needed attention ie. the problem with the manhole cover access (pond area), the low spots in the swale, problems with the rock pad & overflow from the swale to the pond, the rocks in the pond at the pipe outlet that are impeding the complete outflow of water. They were also concerned about the grass in the swale. Pete Flones raised his concern that the water leading from the cul-de-sac into the pond may be causing a deterioration of the rock wall which could in turn lead to expensive repairs in the future and made some suggestions as to how this problem could be tackled. The new committee will further investigate this situation.

Road Repair: Considerable work needs to be done on our roads and investigations have led to the obtaining of quotes for needed road repair. The quotes thus far appear to be very expensive and capable of consuming almost all our existing funds. The new committee will further pursue this matter. The main area of concern is the same cul-de-sac that has the potential water problem raised by Pete Flones, a subsidence having occurred at the drain, the pipe from the drain to the pond may have collapsed. Again, the new committee will further investigate this situation.

Budget: The new committee will prepare a budget for the coming year for review by all the members.

New Committee from today’s date until the next election in 2012:

President : Terry Smith

Vice President : Pete Flones

Treasurer : Judy McFarland

Secretary : Angela Desjardins

Architectural sub-committee representative :

Steve Vinding

Hal Lyons

Stu Cluff

The meeting was called to order at 7:15 and quorum was achieved.

Motion to remove Steven Jooste in Treasurer and Secretary position(s): Mike Crawford asserted that the problems with new rules, fines, and overstepping of roles began in 2011 which coincides with Steven Jooste taking the offices of Secretary & Treasurer. Rebecca Horn asked if there were any bylaws and the consensus in the room was there was not, except the letter sent in February 2011 titled as such (the fine schedule). Mike Crawford mentioned that this document was signed by Stu Cluff under false pretenses. Stu Cluff agreed and stated there had been instances when letters had been ripped up that Steven Jooste had presented for him to approve. Rebecca Horn felt she had been misled on what was contained in the CCR’s and had reviewed them to find the truth. Angela Crawford brought up the fact that Steven Jooste does not own his home and therefore does not meet the qualifications of an owner as defined in the CCR’s. Stu Cluff said he most likely has proxy or power of attorney from his son. Mike Crawford agreed that is probably the case, which would give him the ability to attend meetings and vote on matters but still would not grant him the same rights as a homeowner, and in his opinion should not hold office and felt Steven Jooste had misrepresented himself to the Association.
Stu Cluff raised the point that we needed to have a replacement ready to hold the positions if Steven Jooste was removed. Discussion took place about what the qualifications were for the positions. Matt Desjardins stated that homeowners have the right to know qualifications of an individual nominating themselves for office but no one should be excluded from running for said office other than not being an owner. Brian Russell offered to hold the position of Treasurer. Bob McFarland asked Stu Cluff if the meeting was considered official, and he replied that the annual meeting would still be held in December to elect new officers and anyone elected tonight would fill the gap in the interim and be up for election again. To clarify legality of the meeting Mike Crawford quoted RCW 64.38.035(1) (10% of homeowners can call meeting and 14 day notice) and 64.38.025(4) (removal of director). Full text of relevant sections is below. Mike Crawford asked attendees if they had received notice in compliance with the RCW and the consensus was they had.
A vote for removal of Steven Jooste as Treasurer was called and seconded. A show of hands vote was taken with an overwhelming majority voting in the affirmative. The motion passed.
*The question arose later in the meeting if the vote also included Steven Jooste’s removal as Secretary. For clarity an additional vote was called and seconded for the removal of Steven Jooste as Secretary. A show of hands vote was taken with an overwhelming majority voting in the affirmative. The motion passed. Discussion of CCR’s and HOA RCW’s: Mike Crawford brought up that the CCR’s do not mention many of the things that have been put in recent letters. The Association has strict requirements for changes to CCR’s which include 30 day notice and 75% approval of all homeowners. Meetings need to be held with a minimum quorum of 34% of homeowners in attendance. There are no provisions for changes by a management committee/board. All meetings should be open to all members and all should be given notice for including Board meetings in accordance with RCW 64.38. Stu Cluff gave roles in association which are President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and a 3 member Architectural Control Committee (ACC). He said the ACC’s role is to approve changes to structures such as additions and paint colors and major changes in landscaping. It was discussed for future meetings that a roundtable should be held to discuss any changes to the CCR’s and that they should be put in writing and presented to the membership following proper notification requirements so they could be voted on for proper implementation.
Angela Crawford mentioned that records of the association (invoices, cancelled checks, bank statements, etc.) have been requested by both her and Brian Russell without any response. Stu Cluff stated that the personal information of members shouldn’t be turned over. Mike Crawford asserted the RCW’s state that all records of the association can be requested by any owner with the exception of unlisted phone numbers. There was some concern mentioned by several members in attendance that the financial dealings of the association should be known by all and a yearly summary of expenditures in the form of a spreadsheet was not sufficient. Stu Cluff agreed to send copies of the bank statements to all owners and clarified that two signatures were required on all checks written by the Association.
The subject of a 3rd party managing the Association was mentioned. Stu Cluff had looked into this and the costs were approximately $3,000 annually. It was the opinion of the majority of members that this was excessive and not necessary.
Direction of HOA and role in neighborhood:
The majority of the homeowners felt that the community should be more neighborly and that the HOA should not be involved in every dispute between neighbors. The approach should be instead to take the time to find out if our neighbors needed help with anything and offering assistance if necessary. Rebecca Horn mentioned she would like to have a neighborhood festival in the coming months similar to what is held in Germany in the fall and winter. There was much agreement with attendees feeling this would make the neighborhood a friendlier place to live. Many homeowners stated they felt this meeting was a positive move in the right direction on bringing our community together.
Nomination and selection of new officers:
Brian Russell offered to hold the position of Treasurer. Angela Crawford mentioned that he has managed large businesses including Lowe’s and Office Depot and was more than capable of handling the Association’s funds. Angela Crawford nominated Brian Russell and this was seconded. A show of hands vote was taken with an overwhelming majority voting in the affirmative. The motion passed.
Angela Crawford offered to hold the position of Vice President. Brian Russell mentioned that she is the current PTA President at Purdy Elementary and has an operating budget in excess of 100k and manages multiple projects and expenditures. Brian Russell nominated Angela Crawford and this was seconded. A show of hands vote was taken with an overwhelming majority voting in the affirmative. The motion passed.
Matt Desjardins offered to hold the position of Secretary. He was nominated and this was seconded. A show of hands vote was taken with an overwhelming majority voting in the affirmative. The motion passed.
Bioswale and road repair:
Stu Cluff stated that approximately $2,200 in checks had been signed for the work already done on bioswale and prior to that $15,000 was in the Association account. There is some repair needed to some of the mechanisms in the drainage pipes as well as the sediment removed. The bioswale is to be hydroseeded in the next few weeks and Stu Cluff mentioned a fence around bioswale. Angela Crawford said she had spoken to the county and that once grass has taken hold it is not a problem for children to play in area and has already told her children to not ride bikes in the bioswale. Erich Hertzog who works for Pierce County also spoke with the Engineer who inspected the bioswale and was given similar information. A few areas of street need to be repaired. The expectation is that the repairs to the bioswale will be done by the book this time to avoid ongoing large expenses every year.
Next Meeting:
It was discussed to possibly have monthly meetings of the full membership with the next meeting tentatively scheduled for October 25th at 6:30pm with the location yet to be determined. Proper notice will be given to all homeowners.
Meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:30pm.

Footnotes:
Relevant RCW sections
RCW 64.38.035
Association meetings - Notice - Board of directors.
(1) A meeting of the association must be held at least once each year. Special meetings of the association may be called by the president, a majority of the board of directors, or by owners having ten percent of the votes in the association. Not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days in advance of any meeting, the secretary or other officers specified in the bylaws shall cause notice to be hand-delivered or sent prepaid by first-class United States mail to the mailing address of each owner or to any other mailing address designated in writing by the owner. The notice of any meeting shall state the time and place of the meeting and the business to be placed on the agenda by the board of directors for a vote by the owners, including the general nature of any proposed amendment to the articles of incorporation, bylaws, any budget or changes in the previously approved budget that result in a change in assessment obligation, and any proposal to remove a director.

RCW 64.38.025
Board of directors - Standard of care - Restrictions - Budget - Removal from board. (4) The owners by a majority vote of the voting power in the association present, in person or by proxy, and entitled to vote at any meeting of the owners at which a quorum is present, may remove any member of the board of directors with or without cause.

www.TuscanyParkEstates.com

Dear Tuscany Park Estates Home Owners,

The reason we organized and formed the homeowners association was because of an inspection of our storm water runoff program by Pierce County. Our system was non-functional and needed to be repaired and regularly maintained. Fines imposed could reach $400 per day per homeowner according to the Pierce County environmental department. The storm water runoff system was designed to filter runoff from roofs, yards, storm drains etc. Each homeowner is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the storm water system which is recorded by Pierce County. When a home is sold then it becomes the responsibility of the new home owner to pay for the maintenance of the runoff system.

Since 2006 we have repaired the storm water runoff system and brought it up to code. The retention pond was dredged with added stones to make it more functional. Trees were removed from the edges and the bio-swale along 36th Avenue cleared of brush and trees. We hired a contractor to remove the sediment and sludge from the storm drains throughout the community.

Our annual inspection from the county was June of this year. They reported that our storm drains needed to be cleaned out and our bio-swale mowed. Everything else passed inspection; clearing the storm drains will cost around $1100 and be required annually. Our bio-swale has been mowed which will cost $90 every other month; more often if necessary.

In 2006 we decided upon the amount of $240 annually which will cover our community expenses mainly being the storm water runoff system repair and maintenance. Most homeowners have complied allowing us to maintain the system without asking for additional funding. A couple home owners have not been paying their dues; one has made it clear they do not intend to pay their share. For this reason we have no choice but to place liens on the homes of those homeowners who are two years delinquent in the payment of their dues. We are a registered non-profit organization with the state of Washington and have every right to do so. Payments can be mailed to 3110 Judson Street - Suite 173 Gig Harbor, WA 98335 or can be made online at our website.

Recently our treasurer Carol Ellis moved to Everett for personal reasons and we needed a new treasurer to handle our money. Marlene Jooste, who was an accountant, was appointed because of her expertise in the field. All out going checks require two signatures for better accounting; deposits are made to our corporate account located in Gig Harbor.

Dottie Lindberg our vice president sold her home and relinquished her title of vice president for our community. If you are interested in the position please let us know. We will have a community vote later this year; you must be up to date with your dues to be eligible for any position. I will create a nomination form on the Website’s Board of Directors page.

Recent complaints have come to our attention and need to be addressed. Trash cans and bins are being left on the street allowing trash to blow around the streets and yards. Trash cans need to be removed from the street on the day they are emptied. If you are not going to be home please have a neighbor move them for you. Trash cans and bins need to be placed out of view from the street either in a back yard, garage or other enclosure.

Yards need to be kept up by mowing grass, weeding flower beds and removing debris from view of neighbors. If you are unable to do so hire a landscaper, the community uses Seak Chea. He is very reasonable and his contact information can be found under the landscaping section of our website. If you know other landscapers please send us their information so we can post it on the website.

Aggressive and barking dogs need to be secured and not allowed to harass neighbors in our community. Several complaints have been made about dogs showing aggressive behavior towards themselves, families and friends.

We are planning on having a association meeting in August with regular meetings thereafter to update everyone on current community events. Nominations can be made for officer positions at that time as well. If you would be able to let us use your home or have a place we can meet please let me know or use any of the forms located on our website.

Also if you have a business or provide a service; electrician, plumber, lawyer, doctor, etc., please let me know so I can post your information on our website.

Under the guidelines of our registered non-profit organization we will be providing annual reports. Currently Marlene is creating a spreadsheet to show how money was spent; once complete we will be sending you a copy.

If you have any questions or concerns please mail them to the payment address or use our forms listed on the website. If you have non-bias photos of our community or near-by places please upload them at the photo section on the site. We have created a links section on the site with important links and phone numbers. If you would like to have addition links listed let us know.

Best regards,